Matthew Fearns-Davies, Tsutomu Kubota, Fumina Tachibana, Yuko Kato and Ian Davies
This paper describes and discusses collaboration between history teachers in England and Japan. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which history is taught in each…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper describes and discusses collaboration between history teachers in England and Japan. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which history is taught in each country as a part of a general commitment to international collaboration and as a means by which we could explore the connection between history education and global citizenship education.
Design/methodology/approach
The teachers created two lessons (one from England and one from Japan) about the Russian revolution. Both lessons were taught in each country. Data were gathered from students and teachers to aid reflections on the nature and outcome of the collaboration.
Findings
The collaboration was very positive. Teachers and students were excited to work together and to experience different ways of learning about the past. There were different approaches to the ways in which knowledge was characterized in each country (teachers in England emphasizing contextually based historical interpretations; teachers in Japan emphasizing content and contextual knowledge).
Originality/value
This work contributes to the limited amount of research that is currently available about professional collaboration between high school teachers and students of history in Japan and England. The arguments that are made about the opportunities for international collaboration in the context of different characterizations of pedagogical content knowledge contribute to a relatively unexplored field. The authors contribute to our understandings of the relationship between history education and global citizenship education.
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Reports on Japan, a country in which the falling birth rate gives marketers some interesting opportunities. Explores how smaller numbers of children leads to more money being…
Abstract
Reports on Japan, a country in which the falling birth rate gives marketers some interesting opportunities. Explores how smaller numbers of children leads to more money being spent on each, in particular the “six pockets” or six sources of financial support that children have from their two parents and four grandparents. Illustrates this by the example of Studio Alice, a photographic studio that lends ceremonial costumes to maximise the appeal to grandparents of the child’s appearance. Continues with “Morning Musume”, a manufactured pop group of ordinary young girls who audition on a TV show; aspirational clothing brand Narumiya International has been able to supply fashionable costumes for this at prices considerably higher than competitors. Moves on to the cosmetics industry: this is now a large market for the under‐tens, aided by appealing packaging, suitable products that are safe for children, low prices, child‐oriented sales channels, and information sources like magazines and TV advertisements. Shows how children under 16 are now the focus of the huge mobile phone market, especially for emails, and indicates the problems and advantages involved in the desire for this fashion accessory. Outlines how Japan’s corporate marketing teams are now trying to assess what children want, and the problems involved in designing questionnaires for young Japanese children, who are less used than Europeans or Americans to expressing opinions in public.
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Takumi Kato, Yuko Endo, Sayu Fujiwara, Yu Zhu, Takahiko Umeyama and Susumu Kamei
As a measure against plastic waste, Coca-Cola and Evian have begun introducing label-free plastic bottles. Food labels have long been recognized as an important marketing tool…
Abstract
Purpose
As a measure against plastic waste, Coca-Cola and Evian have begun introducing label-free plastic bottles. Food labels have long been recognized as an important marketing tool, but there is a lack of research on label-free products. To address this gap, this study examined the influence of label-free design on product attractiveness in the Japanese green tea market.
Design/methodology/approach
If existing products are used in an experiment, respondents would be subject to brand image bias. Hence, by mechanically combining the main design elements (cap shape, bottle style, decoration line, logo and label) with an orthogonal array, the conditions for bottles with and without labels are completely aligned. The authors conducted an online survey and applied the chi-square test to the attractiveness of 18 designs presented in random order.
Findings
Label-free designs were more attractive to consumers than labeled designs. The effect was higher among female, middle-aged and older adults; those with higher annual income and low-frequency purchasers.
Practical implications
Practitioners should adopt a label-free design that can satisfy both environmental considerations and customer value. It would be a formidable challenge to change the longstanding emphasis placed on label design, but this study demonstrates the value of doing so.
Originality/value
This is the first study in the package design literature on the advantages of label-free plastic bottles. The authors also applied an orthogonal array used for many years to optimize objective numerical values in marketing research.
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In response to this criticism of the schools that had been building for decades, in 2002, the Japanese Ministry of Education (MOE) enacted a collection of initiatives that aimed…
Abstract
In response to this criticism of the schools that had been building for decades, in 2002, the Japanese Ministry of Education (MOE) enacted a collection of initiatives that aimed to better equip students to face the realities of rapidly shifting social, economic, and political conditions. Ministry officials hoped that the reforms, which were labeled the “relaxed education” policies, would induce substantial changes in the way education is organized and delivered across the country. Government reports emphasized that the prevalence of problems experienced by Japanese youths necessitated reforms that could reduce the pressures experienced by their students and enhance their interest in learning.
This ethnographic study analyzes the translation and implementation of the relaxed education policies in a sample of Japanese elementary and junior high schools. The analysis provided highlights the tensions experienced by education stakeholders as they attempt to reconcile their ideals about education with more immediate concerns about what will bring students success in a competitive academic marketplace. Particular attention is devoted to the issue of equity, and how the relaxed education programs are affecting the learning opportunities and performance of different groups of students.
This chapter looks at the sex trade in Japanese society and the manner in which it has been accepted for decades, both socially and legally, as a ‘necessary evil’. This passive…
Abstract
This chapter looks at the sex trade in Japanese society and the manner in which it has been accepted for decades, both socially and legally, as a ‘necessary evil’. This passive and disinterested tolerance of the industry's quasi-legal state, neither banning prostitution completely nor ensuring that it follows the transparent rules and regulations expected of other industries, means that it fails to satisfy either of the primary views on transactional sex: prohibition or legalisation. The result is that the women involved in the industry are subject to various forms of exploitation and abuse that the Japanese government, by failing to take active steps to reform the industry in either direction, becomes complicit to. Shaped by personal interviews with members of the industry and the NGOs that provide them with support, the chapter provides an examination of the industry's historical development, its portrayal in popular media and the prevailing social norms regarding the industry. It then assesses the political and legal responses to the industry and the glaring oversights that exist in their failure to provide adequate support. Finally, it considers, based upon the self-expressed interests of the women working in the industry, in what areas meaningful reform might occur.
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Konstantin Bagrationi and Thomas Thurner
When a major Russian energy provider introduced a new technology that required organisational adjustment, the company’s management was surprised by the degree of internal…
Abstract
Purpose
When a major Russian energy provider introduced a new technology that required organisational adjustment, the company’s management was surprised by the degree of internal resistance these changes provoked. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors took reference to the work on readiness to change and studied how the future time perspective, which connects with early writings by Lewin (1942), would explain the attitudes and behaviour of 148 managers.
Findings
The findings indicate that only a small number of employees perceived the future as offering many opportunities and showed willingness to pursue them. The majority of employees are either fearful of future changes, or do not have a strong sense of belonging to the company and hence are disinterested in prospective opportunities within the firm.
Originality/value
The different constructs of the future introduce an emic perspective to the study of organisational change and answer calls to enrich the measurements that are currently in use.